Summary of story from The Huffington Post, January 23, 2012
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has clarified his opposition to abortion even in cases of rape, saying that women who find themselves in such circumstances should “make the best out of a bad situation.”
Santorum, who has crusaded against abortion throughout his campaign as a presidential hopeful, was asked by CNN’s Piers Morgan what he would do if his own daughter approached him, begging for an abortion after having been raped.
Santorum explained that he would counsel her to “accept this horribly created” baby, because it was still a gift from God, even if given in a “broken” way.”
When Morgan proffered the possibility that fathers in that position might ask themselves if making their daughter continue with the pregnancy could “ruin her life”, Santorum responded:
“Well, you can make the argument that if she doesn’t have this baby, if she kills her child, that that, too, could ruin her life.”
He continued: “As you know, we have to, in lots of different aspects of our life we have horrible things happen.
“I can’t think of anything more horrible, but nevertheless, we have to make the best out of a bad situation and I would make the argument that that is making the best.”
Santorum’s strict views on abortion have featured prominently throughout his political career.
Please, please somebody tell me why these people are being touted as presidential material instead of being locked in stocks and pelted with rotten tomatoes.
I don’t know either Karen. I’m just hanging on to the hope that the anti-female policies of him and his ilk which worked against the female candidates, will continue to work against the male.
Rick Santorum is entitled to his personal opinion but would command a lot more respect publicly if he showed a little of the Christian attribute of grace instead of judgemental legalism and – he really believes we are made in the image of God – used the opportunity to speak out against violence against women and the way US culture promotes the objectification of women
I just don’t get it…. Don’t believe in abortion? Then don’t get one! But you can’t tell the woman you’ve never met and don’t know anything about what’s right for her.
thats like saying “dont believe in rape? then dont rape anyone but you cant tell people youve never met and dont know anything about whats right from them”
murder is murder, period. end of story. i doubt any of you have looked up the horrors of late term abortion (which may be outlawed in many states.. but it isnt here in canada) or read studies that prove babies feel pain at 12 weeks (some point earlier.. some point later like 18 weeks which is still well under most abortion limits).
the vast majority of pro abortion believers are extremely under educated on the matter and look only to pro abortion media to get information. or better yet, dont ever look in to it at all.
dont blindly back something just because feminists say its good. wheres the rights for the woman whos being killed? and all the children and grand children they would have had?
I have two major issues with this comment Courtney:
1. To assume that someone can only fail to share your view because they are ignorant of the facts rather than because they see things differently is sweepingly insulting and not conducive to any kind of constructive discussion.
For the record, I am aware of the side effects of abortion and I can assure you, they are certainly not worse than the side effects of pregnancy or birth.
2. To assume that people who support the right of a woman to choose whether or not they submit themselves to pregnancy and birth especially when that child is the result of rape, are in some way anti-life, is just plain naive.
What people like Rick Santorum are trying to do is take away choice.
Choice allows us to educate and support and ensure that the right decision, be that abortion, adoption, or motherhood, be made with all the information available.
I have a hard time understanding why any caring human being could think that forcing a woman or child through an unwanted pregnancy no matter what the issues is something that is a positive thing for anyone involved.
Courtney, I am a social worker who has worked in a perinatal ward in a large public hospital here in Australia.
In Australia it is illegal to perform an abortion over 16 weeks, unless there is a medical reason for it, and it is performed in a hospital, with access to pre and post natal counselling. I performed this counselling, so I do know a lot about the “horrors” of which you speak.
I don’t blindly back abortion, and if I became pregnant through rape, I could not tell you whether I would have one. But I’m not going to judge people who do, or call them “uneducated”.
You should make the best out of any situation. However, in the situation of an unplanned pregnancy I feel that sometimes abortion is making the best of it. If you are in every way unprepared (physically, mentally, financially, etc) then an abortion is your best option. It is better than sticking your child in an orphanage because they often end up going from foster home to foster home being abuse in multiple ways. It is also better than bringing them into a world that is not ready for them and may never fully appreciate them. You can argue that an abortion is not giving that baby a chance. Yet women release 2 eggs every month, therefore you can argue that not fertilizing it is not giving those eggs a chance either. Just my opinion.
‘Make the best of a bad situation?’ What does he know about being pregnant and not being able to support a child? How dare he tell women – like some old fashioned paterfamilias – what they should do with their bodies?
And Courtney – women who choose abortion typically do so with a great deal of regret, but are left with no other choice by societies that will not put money behind supporting the birth. Also, women tend not to go down this route because ‘feminists say it is good’ – they do so because it is the best option for them.
The simplest explanation is often the best. Restrictive abortion laws don’t work.
This story out on Ms Magazine’s website:
“the more restrictive abortion laws are, the higher the proportion of unsafe abortions (with Eastern Europe being a significant outlier, with the highest global abortion rates). About half of all abortions are unsafe, leading to the deaths of roughly 47,000 women each year, or 13 percent of all global maternal deaths—almost entirely in developing nations, where restrictive abortion laws are more common and access to contraception and medical care are generally lower.”
Brilliant piece: http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2012/01/26/abortion-laws-and-global-abortion-rates/
Hi Courtney,
I don’t think you can assign rights of the non existent unborn over the rights of a living human being. Abortion is a difficult argument, but I think most kids of unwilling parents would agree that being brought up by someone who doesn’t want to be a parent is a kind of living hell for both child and parent. In the end, I think avoiding a bad situation is better than continuing to walk into it.